Margaret just got hired as a clerk in a medical laboratory. She is an extremely hard worker and is eager to prove herself to her new employer. After only a few weeks on the job, she comes up with what she thinks is a better and more efficient way to process customer accounts. To impress her boss, she comes in early one morning to implement her plan. Margaret’s boss arrives at work and is upset to find the office in a mess as she attempts to put her plan into action. Discussion Questions:

1. Do you think that what Margaret did was wrong? Why or why not?

2. What could she have done differently?

3. How do you know your limitations at work?

4. How does this scenario demonstrate the importance of knowing the difference between taking the initiative and knowing your limitations?

today we'd use social media to quickly spread a controversial idea, but in the eighteenth century, the printed pamphlet was highly effective. and thomas paine took full advantage of it. on january 9, 1776, when paine published his pamphlet, "common sense," he wanted to push the american people toward independence from britain. it ultimately ignite the american revolution. thomas paine argued that the monarchy was evil and should be rejected as a form of government. to underscore his point, he cited the bible to argue his case -- in judges 8: 22-23: "the israelites said to gideon, 'rule over us, you and your son and your ' gideon told them, 'i will not rule over you. the lord will rule over you'" (nrsv).

eli whitney was an american inventor best known for inventing the cotton gin. this was one of the key inventions of the industrial revolution and shaped the economy of the antebellum south.